neil: i think you have to hope that -- fine, you have to hope you are forking over less money for it. >> i think you will see it happen. neil: you are under the weather. >> i'm okay. ne: okay, elizabeth, how hopeful are you, we'll avoid a shut down. >> about as hopeful as i was last time we were trying to avoid a disastrousff the cliff cut, that didn't no happen. so,. neil: that is not encouraging. >> i'm sorry, i'm going to be the rain cloud. neil: would the markets welcome another act of brickmanship, or are they getting tired of that? you want some assurance, you knew that rates were going up if barack obama was reelected. you could move oyou had that ceainty. would market welcome that when it comes to any of this budget uff? >> yes, we're on what?

the fifth 6 inning of this the markets know that this is noise, they are turning themselves back to what is important, that is earnings and fundamentals, they are not great but they are going well. soy, the market says, you know we'll focus on that stuff, and not worry about washington. neil: all right, who will come out politically ahead, if i could be so crass? >> how do you mean. neil: who looks better. >> president wins, that is where we are at. neil: y never say a bad thing about him. >> no you heard me say a few things okay. elabeth, republicans with the sequestration of the

most? cavuto to at 8:00 p.m. melissa: i'm melissa francis and here what's "money" tonight. paul ryan rolls out a new plan to balance the budget but he is making big spending changes to get there. how much is for real and how much is for show? we'll get reaction from a congressman on the house budget committee. security scandal in the u.s.. sec charges illinois with fraud. they have huge pensions problems while trying to borrow money. more states and cities could be doing the same thing. we have a top expert to peel back the curtain. optimism climbs for the 30 strayed month. more hiring and investment is planned. is it the silver lining we've all been waiting for? get the store from two business owners. you're not going to want to miss what they have to say.

even when they say it is not, it is always about money. melissa: first let's look at today's market moment. it was a photo finish for the dow after spending much of the day in the red. it squeaked out a gain in the last minutes of trading. it set a record for the 6th straight session. the nasdaq and the s&p 500 weren't as lucky however. they snapped a seven-day streak of gains, falling slightly from multiyear highs. on to our top story tonight. the big news with the unveiling of paul ryan's plan for 2014. he says it will balance the budget in ten years but there are definitely things in it thatt some are going to find very hard to swallow. like eliminating obamacare all together. i mean just look at th picture relead by senator mitch mcconnell's office. when you see this, you do think that maybe there is a

better way to reform health care. i don't know. what do you think? that is all the red tape on the left it will take in regulation to deal with just that little bit of legislation on the right. so democrats are set to release their budget proposal tomorrow. here to break down budget battle and how soon a deal will be made, a republican congressman from indiana. todd rokitaa he is a member of the house budget committee. thanks so much for joining us. what did you like about the house plan? what are the strengths? >> as a member of the budget committee i like, we've been doing the last three years escially under the leadership of paul ryan. we have had the courage to be straightforward and honest what is causing deficits and debt in this country and that is our spending and specifically our spending on what has been called social entitlement programs. and we're honest about reforming those, strengthening them, making su they're around for my kids who are five and three right now. and not bankrupting the country in the process. melissa: except for you're trying to eliminate obamacare which you may not

like but is the law of the land now. is that a nonstarter to put out a budget like that? >> well, our whole budget doesn't hinge on whether or not obamacare exists or not. it is a comprehensiv budget that balances in ten years and doesn't increase anyone's taxes. that will be two important points that the democrats i don't think tomorrow will be able to say. i don't thi their budgets is ever going to balance, when they have ever done one it hasn't. from what we're hearing on your station and other stations, they're going to raise taxes to the hilt to try to do it. so that is not really a solution. what we're after --. melissa: does it balance in ten years if you don't get rid of obamacare? >> it will takeonger to balance. but the point is, is that we're honest about the spending that needs to be cut and actually the programs that need to be reformed. obamacare goes the other way. yes,ou're right, melissa, it is the law but doest mean you give up on your principles. doesn't mean you give up on the fight to try to correct the danger that this law

constitutional or not, poses to the future generations of this country, melissa. that's the point. melissa: part of your plan calls for tax reform. it is a two bracket code. >> yeah. melissa: the lower bound bracket is 10%. the language is a little fuzzier about the top individual rate but something like 25%. how reasonable do you think it is that something like this wouldappen and what would be the end result? >> well, i think it is very reasonable, and i think we have hopefully bipartisan come rod dry around this and ernest around this. you know what? it is revenue neutral. we're not asking to take less money from people or more money. we're asking to simplify the code. most of us can't even fill out a tax return now without having professional help or at least turbotax to get us through it. it doesn't have to be that. it shouldn't have to be that way. if we do revenue neutral way. by that taking no more than 19 or so percent of gdp more

than enough to run any government, especially this federal government. we're hoping to get some bipartisan support around that. melissa: there is talk about what draconian cuts this budget represents. at the same time we're only talking about slowing the growth in spending. it is not even real cuts. just spending more,ess quickly. >> i think over the 10-year window we're just slowing growth from around 6% down to three. those are round numbers. but, yeah you're right. we're slowing growth in 10-year window. again, melissa, drivers of our debt, are medicare, medicaid, social entitlement programs. that is taking up 2/3 of our spend. and we actually get to reforming those as well. albeit outside the 10-year-budget window. but we have the conversation. we'll get the job done over a generation. melissa: how likely do i think democrats will join you on that front? debb wasserman schultz was on another libera network saying she supports changes to medicare, medicaid and social security. do you believe her?

>> i think that's incredible movement. whether i believe her, that's another question. before, when we were rolled out these budgets, commercials up immediately ran showing guys like me and paul ryan rolledding older people in wheelchairs off cliffs. we made tremendous movement with debbie in this respect already. i'm looking forward to getting the job done with her. melissa: congressman,e'll see whatappens. thanks for coming on. >> you bet, melissa. see you next time. melissa: are you feeling edge counselinged the budget battle will -- encouraged it will lead to budget resolution? come on. quick for congress anyway. let's go to the today's panel. brian wesbury, chief economist at first trust advisors. gretchen hamel is from public notice. thanks to all of you for joining us. kevin, let me start with you, put on your former senior economist hat from the board of governors and tell me how much progress do you think this budget makes towards getting our problem under control? >> well, i like the budget a lot. it kind of redefines

balance. so the president says he wants a balanced plan but this plan tually achieves balance. achieves budget balance in ten years. that would be really great for the federal reserve if they could accomplish it. but i think probably the case political consultants will look and say, jeez, he hasn't moved much since last time. therefore it will not probably move us any closer to a deal. melissa: gretchen, is that the case? >> well, i think documents like thhs are priority documents, right? so they basically they're nonbinding agreements. they set out what the priorities should be and forecast a vision for the nation and should be done. what the follow-up is important and in times past we haven't seen the follow-up. hopefully this time we will. melissa: brian, you're a money guy. in the midst of all that is going on here you're trying to decipher it and make money. does any of this matter to you? >> it really does. melia, thanks for that. out here in the midwest, in the heartland, we're running a real business, what we

care about, and escially my economic models care about is the size of the government. the bigr the government is, the smaller the private sector is. that's by definition because every dime that the government snds it either taxes or borrows from the private sector. so paul ryan's budget, and, i do like it. it slows, it doesn't actually cut spending over a 10-year window. i wish we could do that. but by slowing it to about 3 to 3.5% growth he is able to bring spending down as a share of gdp. and that will lead to a stronger economy and more employment. so i really like the budget. i like the direction. and i hope it does unchange the debate in washington. melissa: kevin, do you agree with that, by definition the largerhe government is the smaller the private sector is, everydollar they spend came from somewhere? >> sure in the long run that

is absolutely true. there have been a lot of studies thathow the big government countries grow a lot slower an that smaller government countries. absolutely. if we get government under control we would ratchet up the forecast. that is what mr. ryan is trying to do. i think the problem the democrats will have they will put out a budget maybe matches presiden obama's rhetoric and has a lot of tax increases in it. that will cause a lot of democrats to be in something of a political peril. i think after the democrats budget comes out we're then going to see horse trading and movement maybe towards this ryan budget. but i think the odds of the ryan budget anywhere close to law are just about zero. they're not going to repeal, for example, obamacare. just not going to happen. melissa: gretchen, you're nodding, do you agree with that? >> yeah. i think that is one thing that has to be discussed here, there will be tradeoffs, right? th's what well see happen over the course of the next few weeks. he should be applauded because he has taken on entitlements and done things we've seen other people not do. in fact today, jay carney's

president's budget doesn't come unti april won't even balance. we have to a applaud him finding a w to balance a budget. whether doable remains to be seen. melissa: brian, what is one piece in there you want to insistn somebody out in the midwest trying to live and do business or whatever? what is one thing you see in the ryan budget you would like to stay? >> yeah, that's a hard question. and i, i guess i would love to see the repeal of obamacare. i think obamacare itself moves us toward a single-payer system. i want to see consumers more in control of health care. if we reall want to have a market for health care, that doesn't eat our economy alive in the future, we have to move this toward more competition and more consumer-led behavior. melissa: kevin, brian will not get his wish. let's move on to your wish . what do you think about, maybe we were talking in the segment, i'm so sorry, brian,

that wilnot work out for you. >> get it. i get it. melissa: what about the code, the idea we'll have a 10% bracket and maybe 25% bracket, also perhaps farfetched but still interesting? >> right. in fact you mentioned it. with the congressman that it looked likehey even fuzzed up the language on that a little bit. melissa: they did on the second part. >> felt like they were backing away. i would say my one wish we have a year where there is regular order. i think we might have that. regular order means that the house does a budget, senate has a unwith jet. they argue about it, publicly, rather than in a dark room where we can't see what they're saying. they ve and we hold them accountable for the votes. republicanvery definitely moved us to regular order. that is kind of dream come true for guy like me. because we want toee what they care about. melissa: more modest also i'm afraid farfetched. gretchen, you get the last word. what is your wish? >> i think my wish is entitlement reform. eats up a huge chunk of our budget. it will eat up even larger portion as we go on.

my generation and other generations pay into a system they will never reap the benefits from unless something is done about it today. lissa: okay. >> medicare goes insolvent in ten years. social security in 20 years. something has to be done. melissa: something like that. i want a pony. i think we'll all be sad at the end of the week. we put our wishes in. you are a great panel. we appreciate it here is the money question of the day, paul ryan wants to kill obamacare as part of his budget plan. will that help or hurt his chances? so far the responses are actually mixed. common answer is it doesn't matter any way. which want to hear more from you. like us on facebook.com slash melissafrancisfox or follow me on twitter @melissaafrancis. next on "money", diamonds or gold, emission may be the hottest coodity in america. a massive shortage in this country. it may get worse before it gets better.

sec slaps illinois with fraud charges, the state. it gave investors false information about its finances for year but is it the openly state doing it? what does it mean for your money? we hava top expert here to explain. more "money" straight ahead.

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that appears on your screen. ♪ . melissa: shooting enthusiasts listen up. a massive ammo srtage is sweeping the country. according to some estimates guns and ammo sales were up 16% last year. ammunition makers can't keep up with the increased demand. wal-mart is even rationing ammo,imiting sales to three boxes per customer per day. for more we're joined by patrick woods, direct are to have operations and development at spring guns and ammo. nice to see you again, patrick. are you experiencing shortages? are you seeing the sail kind of rush? >> oh, definitely. and it is pretty much across the board. i think the whole country is experiencing it. i just got ba from a distributors conference and another buying group conference and every vendor i spoke with is just scrounging to find ammo

anywhere they can. very specifically a up can of calibers. melissa: i was going it ask you that. what specifically is in such high demand? >> well, what i've got in front of me here are a couple of really, the most hard to get. melissa: can you hold it up? i don't know if it is possible for us to see it. we can't really see it. here we go. >> sure. 9mm pistol ammo is probably the worst. we have had at our store, we generally buy 50 to 60 cases a month of 9mm pistol ammo and twice for the range. 50 or 60 for bulk ammo and twice that for the range. each case has a thousand rounds. that gives you idea what we're able to get. we're lucky if we get three cases a month or 3000 rounds. we're suffering here. the manufacturers are doing the best they can. they have three shifts running every day. they can not keep up. melissa: how long has this been going on for? >> you know, probably

started right after, you know, end of november, december, it the started to get pretty bad. specifically of urse there was the tragedy at newtown and ensuing legislation caused a frenzy for guns and ammunitions the and subsequently ammunition. and it is just progressively gotten worse. melissa: what do customers say to you when they come in? they're afraid all of sudden they will not be able to get this stuff? >> i think it is a mix of things. i think some of them, yes. some people come in and perhaps not really keeping track of the legislation closely and in the back of their mind they will ban guns and ammo. so they come in. also you have to keep in mind, there are customers that shoot very regularly. that practice all the time. and they're knowing that this is going to be hard to get. so they come in and buy a year's worth of ammunition just to make sure that if there's a shortage they're still able to practicehe amount that they're usually able to. melissa: so you say that manufacturers are not able to speed up their pruction in order t keep up with the

demand. does that mean you're able to raise your price in response to how much demand there is out there? >> well, the prices have hyper inflate ad bit but they're also has been an increase for manufacturers and distributors. kind of a average 5% across the board. atk is our largest ammunition manufacturers in the country. they september out a notice to all buy group distributors, vendors everybody saying we're going up 5% because we can't keep up. the more pressing concern, because of the producing at such a high-capacity so much higher than what they're used to, you start to worry about quality control. all they we have not had any problems this that vain yet. it become as concern it at that point. melissa: is there any chance this is bubble. if they made allowances for the demand ard started producing more you would find yourselves with too much stock or manufacturers themselves would find themselves overcapacity? >> most of your vendors,

especially smaller dealers are concerned they will go ahead and purchase in like they did in 2008. a lot of them have a bad taste in their mouth from 2008. they got left with specif items they ordered a lot of and stuck with. i don't think the manufacturers can become overleveraged. currently a lot of ammo they're producing is going to the federal government, going to different governmental entities. there's a good chance that even if all consumers stopped buying today, they would be able to allocate the ammunition that they have manufaured to governmental entities and get rid of it pretty quickly. melissa: increase in demand is it limited to what you're showing you have in front of you that you have there or across the board as well? >> no. it is across the board. these aae the mo difficult. there are calibers that have not been affected. some of the hunting calibers and things of that nature people don't to shoot a lot. what you're seeing limited are calibers people shoot a lot. the calibers they shoot at a shooting range.

those you see here. 22 long rifle. parents shoot with the children and a lot shoot it with target. there is new industry move to producing 22 long rifles in an ar platform to practice more effectively. melissa: patrick. thanks for coming on. soundsike it is good for business. >> thank you very much for having me back. melissa: all right. time to check the fuel gauge report. iran's oil exports tumbling this month. reuters reports that they may fall to 810,000 barrels per day. that is their lowest level since u.s.-led sanctions began last year. india, japan and north korea sharply cutting imports from iran after mounting pressure from the u.s. to do so. china is the one major country that is increasing imports from iran. speaking of china, its demand for oil was the fourth highest on record last month. february demand climbed nearly 5% compared to last year, hitting 10.14 million barrels of crude per day. that says a lot about their economy. that is aa important story.

oil futures rose for the fourth straight session. optimism over higher global demand helped push crude up about half a percent, ending at 92.54 a barrel. coming up on "money", a securities scandal hits hill know as the sec slaps the state with fraud charges that it misled investors about the dire state of its finances but are nor states pulling off the same dirty tricks? a top expert joins us to explain. some solid news for small businesses as a new report shows strengthening optimism. two business owners will give us the real outlook from where they stand. do you ever have too much money or too much ammo?

♪ . melissa:ow to the scandal

rocking state public pension funds. the securities & exchange commission charged illinois with securities fraud. it is the only the second time in history that federal regulators have accused a state of such a thing. the sec says illinois misled muni bond investors for years about the state's public pension disclosures covering up just how many billions the funding gap actually was. illinois agreed to settle the charges but could this happen in other states? will you feel the pain in your pocket? with me now is ted, the vice president of policy at the illinois policy institut ted, welcome to the show. tell me exactly what they did. >> well, so basically the illinois politicians, the bottom line illinois politicians were not being honest about the state's finances. in 1995 illinois passed this big reform plan and it was supposed to fix the pension crisis over many, many years but within ten years that plan was failing miserably. instead of admitting it and

telling investors that the state had problems with its pension funding, they misrepresented to investors the exact size of the problem. melissa: so, how serious do yo think of a situation is this and what happens to illinois as a result? i mean i understand that even though they have settled they didn't admit any wrongdoing? >> right. look, they, the illinois pension problem is about $100 billion or 200 billion if you use the right discount rates. this is a huge infraction especially if you're a bondholder. it has to be tough to be a bondholder and have any confidence in illinois anymore. they have the worst funded pension civil in the nation. it has the worst credit rating in the nation. in january the state had to cancel $500 billion bond deal. to hear the sec is suing or accusing the state of fraud? look, i think a lot of investors out there think illinois should be junk. melissa: i think there are two major things i guess, i want your opinion, that could happen as a result. number one, it has got to be even harder for them to

borrow money going forward. obviously this was the result of them lying about their finances so that they could borrow money. you would think the next time they grow to borrow money, people wouldn't believe a word they said. like you said, their status should really be junk. i wonder is thereany liability, financial liability they have though to the people that bought bonds under false pretenses? can they sue? >> as you mentioned the state did not admit a wrongdoing but don't be surprised if investors sue. if investors had been presented the proper information, they could have easily gotten higher interest rate or frarpgly a lot of them woun't invested at all. so the fact that the state wasn't up front is a serious event. don't be surprised if they come looking for money. melissa: understand california's pension liability is even larger than illinois. do you think ttey have done a similar thing? do you thi we'll see this moven the other states? >> let me correct one thing, yes, california has a larger

pension liability but on the per capita basis illinois is the worst in the nation. unfortunately we have to take that statistics. but you they what, hard for me what her states or governments are doing something wrong but what i can tell you this. states across the nation and governments across the nation to mislead taxpayers and investors. they use really high rate of expected returns. most of those state or pensions fund will not meet the investment returns. reality across the states, across the 50 states, the pension underfunding is over $4 trillion. it is a huge problem. melissa: at the same time the muni bond market is absolutely enormous. do you think this is the next bubble that's coming or the next financial crisis? >> well, look when i mentioned the pension crisis was a $4 trillion problem, it's a huge many mr. . i think we're just starting to understand the dynamics of that. so i think right now,uni investors are lulled into the sleep but they need to be careful. melissa: ted, thanks for coming on the show. we appreciate your time. >> thank you for having me. melissa: up next on "money",

not even tax hikes and the investor can knock down small businesses. thermitety. new data paints an improving outlook. we have two small business owners here to take on the ground. plus college costs are through the roof. why not have a sale on tuition? it i ingenius new tactic more universities are using. wait until you hear what they're offering. "piles of money" coming up. ♪ at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello?

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♪ . melissa: new data says things could be looking up for small businesses. small business optimism increased in february for the third straight month. here on "money" we talk about the real pulse of our economy and what is going on and bringing the truth from ceos and executives actually out in the trenches and today is no different. here to tell us if these numbers are a true sign of the a economic come backre two business owners. we have the ceo of full contact and the founder and ceo of arc net media. thanks to both of you for joing us. bart, let me ask you, does this ring true? are you feeling more optimistic? >> absolutely melissa, i'm feeling great.

it's springtime. business is about to bloom. i'm feeling the worst is behind us. melissa: why? what are the signs you're seeing that make you feel that way besides your own sunny optimism? >> just my interaction with the community. out here in colorado just denver startup week planning meeting, the number of attendees was through the roof. people have a lot of energy right now. i've never seen more people involved in entrepreneural activities in the last decade. think people are really, really excited. that energy, momentum begets more energy and more momentum. melissa: ryan, does that reflect how you feel? i was out with ceos from very large companies last week. they seemed to reflect they felt like everything in washington was a disaster. the economy was only feting better slowly. at the same time at some point you have to get on with your life. they're sort of putting blinders on with all of that andoving forward with their business plans. how do you feel? >> i think as a whole, america is as resilient a

it gets. we've been a solution country instead of a problem country. i think for the most part we've been dealt a lot of bad hands in recent months and recent years. i think the positive outlook is contagious. i think --. melissa: in spite of all that? >> i mean yeah. people have to do what they need to do to survive. as a business owner you plow ahead. melissa: yeah. >> i mean i think you have got to be really cautious because a lot of people are unsure about what the health insurance policy even means. i think that is the scariest part of this whole story. melissa: yeah. but for example, in your own business, we were talking about during the break and you own a contact lens company. >> yes. melissa: are people buying more? are they fre with their cash? are they trying to save money? are they trading down? how are consumers behaving? >> people are buying. people have been buying. not like the necessity and you can wear glasses to get away with it. people are buying. you see the days. we're having bigger days today than we have yesterday. mobile is huge for us. people are connected at

every second of the day. i think that is testament to the growth. i know february outlook was very bright. melissa: yeah. >> and, but, you still have to be skeptical of this whole thing. melissa: you said be smart as you're investing. bart, how are your customers behaving? are they spending freely? are they still cautious? how would you characterize them? >> our customers are buying, there is no doubt about it. i see it every day. sales have been ticking up greatlin the last three months, coming into 2013. much more so than q4 of 2012. so, you know, i'm bullish. melissa: yeah. we're talking about this nfib survey and one thing they found, they said, well, fortune 500 earnings have been through the roof. more businesses, small businesses that sales quarter over quart wereown, ther than up. i don't understand, why are we not seeing same reflection quarter over quarter for small binesses versus big? ryan you start. >> when you have a small

business you're capable of exploring different opportunities. different partnerships there. there is not a lot of red tape in there you're able to have fun. i think there is so much regulation going on, when you do have something small and able to massage it, there is so much more that you can give back to your customs. melissa: bart, why do you think the reporting sales that are down quarter over quarter, small business, more of them reporting down than up versus s&p 500 killing it? >> well, i think, pessimisticly s&p 500 businesses can smooth out earnings a little bit. some businesses are more seasonal. we came from the holiday season. i don't know, i think it is more to do with the financial engineering than anything else. melissa: yeah, that is probably true. ryan what is your outlook for the next year? >> things are bright. things are good. keep investing. build the infrastructure of your company. hire the right talent and smile and do what you have to do. i'm so envious of your t-shirt.

we should just move. too grim. melissa: thanks for coming on. >> thanks for having us. melissa: colleges are coming up with creative ways to lure perspective students by putting tuitionn sale. with so many graduates struggling to find a job can discounts make college worth it again? you may think so when you he this. it is all about money and optimism i guess. ♪ this is america. we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day afr day... block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] e pill eachmorning. 24 hours. zero heartbur

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us get this document shredder free-- but only if you act right now. call the number on your screen now! ♪ . melissa: here on "money" we talk a lot about the student debt debacle. the time is right for colleges to address the problem themselves. well, now they are. private universities across the country are offering up some pretty smart deals for both students and parents might be happy about. some examples include by seven semesters get one for free. cash incentives for graduating on time. even basketball powerhouse seton hall i offering 66% discount on tuitions for students that qualify that is more than $22,000 off per year. is it enough for the schools to compete? with me is seton hall vice president of enrelatement management.

-- enrollment. why what you have do to do get 66% off? that is quite a deal? >> at seton hall we want to reward students that work hard, students in the top 10% on their class, score 1200 on the s.a.t. or 27 on act they automatically qualify for a discount which lowers our tuition $2,000, making it comparable to public university but giving them all the benefits of small classes and other things a private university can offer. melissa: that strikes me as genius idea. you want to attack the best students. you do it making it economically competitive. at the same time in my day when you had those kind of grades and that attractive you got a scholarship. isn't it just a change in marketing sort of for you? >> we certainly do also award scholarships. students who equal for this discount can also qualify for scholarships as well as need-based aid. the big difference here in the landscape it has become very difficult for students to he no the bottom line

cost right up front. melissa: right. >> there is a lot of anxiety around the college search process. in general you start looking for a college in your junior year. you don't really know what costs will be until march or april of the nior year. that is lot of guessing. we wanted to be more transparent, take guessing out of it so families would have peace of mind and no more up front. so if you work hard at school we'll offer you the discounted rate. they can for need based aid and other scholarship aid. melissa: seems more than ever private schools like yourself have a real problem. colleges all have cropped up, schools that may not have the same standing but students don't know the landscape and as they're trying to find where to go. a college degree seems worth less because it is so ard hard to find a job when you get out. how are you battling over these factors? >> the most important thing for students to do the homework. start the college search

process early and look into the things important to them academic programs, quaty of programs and just like you mentioned, outcomes, what are the employment rates for the school? what are average starting salary. melissa: is that something you talk about? for instance, here is what the graduates do, here is average salary? what do you tell me about that? unemployment rate for recent college grads is 12.6% according to the labor department, recent stat, versus 7.7% for everybody else and 7.8. >> absolutely. these are definitely troubling times economically. it is something students should be concerned about. but, any good school will be able to disclose that information and provide you with that information. for example, at seton hall university our graduates find employment at a rate almost 15% higher than the national average. and so students need to find out what that school's track record is, specifically for their academic program. how well-connected are they within certain industries. how well they prepare you for iernship opportunities.

how much support do they provide for the career center and alumni services. melissa: certainly important to you. you guys want to get paid back at the end of the day. if you have students that owe you debt they have to find a job to pay it off. >> absolutely. weare most importantly about serving our students and insuring that they are able to use their degree to build a prosperous and successful life for their future. we'll be happy to have alumni invest in the unersity but also serving society and giving back. melissa: thanks for coming on. we appreciate your time. up next, tiger woods gets his groove back on the golf course. seems he has stiff competition when it comes to winning back his ex-wife though. a billionaire coal magnet may have beaten tiger to the punch. we'll give you the juicy details. you can never have too much money. ♪

♪ melissa: it is time for some "spare change." sandra smith. the dj has been awesome today. tiger woods, whose ex-wife now reportedly seen chris klein. they have been dating since the holidays, both have mentioned

although elin leveled hers and rebuilt it. there is a lot of money in it, by the way. >> he is a billionaire, she is close to one. i think it has to probably rub him the wrong way to see her so happy with a successful guy. >> the mother of his children, i'm sure he wants her to be as happy as possible. happy ex-wife, happy life. isn't this epiphany of money goes to money? not like he rescues some pretty woman scenario off the streets of new york. i don't know. melissa: she is ving the high life, she deserves this. >> is this like rags to riches?

>> let's not go anywhere near that. a proud new owner, $400 million committed a bargain. not necessarily good news for those. plan outsourcing many of the jobs of course, but after all of the drama, i don't know, are you happy about this? >> i probably haven't had a twinkie in 15 or 20 years. i went to the local store, i had a twinkie. i was a little disappointed. my expectations were probably unattainable. as we know, he makes fortunes doing this. distressed companies come in, prop them back up, an american

icon. gerri: makes them cut the fat, so to speak. >> i think this is a no-brainer. iconic brand, and everybody loves them, and guess what, everybody who forgot they were even on the shelves at the grocery store before have been reminded once again about their childhood snack. that is a great point. another "money" update. we told you how they're going to create their own version of "argo," now iran may sue hollywood over the movie saying it showed in o!! none realistic portrayal of the country. what does that even mean? if you were going to sue hollywood, first of all this is the first time anyone has ever thought hollywood portrayal was

inaccurate. >> could you imagine after every organized crime movie, it would be loaded based on their portrayal. it is ridiculous, there is even something that says parts of this are fictitious or exaggerated, they would get thrown out of court. melissa: how would you collect? >> go out to the, distributors. if they did a movie about you and they rip you apart. melissa: they kind of did. that was inaccurate portrayal >> you are allowed to portray a country however you want.